


Eternally Missed [ARCHIVED]

by howelleheir



Series: Zima & Leto [ARCHIVED] [2]
Category: Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: Action & Romance, Bottom Steve Rogers, Brainwashing, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Dubious Consent Due To Identity Issues, Identity Issues, M/M, Memory Loss, Pre-HYDRA Reveal, Stockholm Syndrome, Traumatic Bonding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2016-02-18
Packaged: 2018-05-07 04:41:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5443682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/howelleheir/pseuds/howelleheir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexander Pierce has his eye on a new Asset. [ARCHIVED - I'm currently in the process of editing and reformatting this work and others in the series into related-but-independent oneshots. A link to that series will be posted here when it's up. This series will not be continued in its present form.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Interception

**April 4, 2014**

All of the noise had died down. Or his hearing was going; that was also a possibility, but he didn’t think so. He could hear the distant sirens and commotion down on the street. The burning in his chest was building slowly, spreading out from the two bullet holes in his chest. No burning in his back, just the prickling, needle-sharp pain of the shattered glass underneath him. That meant there were no exit wounds, but he knew just from the burning that his light ballistic vest had failed. A downward glance to assess the damage confirmed that he was bleeding more slowly than he should have been. That was either a good sign or a very, very bad one. He would be dead before any help arrived, he knew that. Then this whole thing really would be a waste.

 

**April 14, 2012, 4:07AM**

The phone. The phone was ringing. He groped around in the pitch-dark until his fingers closed around it, and lifted it to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Secretary,” a panicked voice.

“Anderson. It’s the middle of the night.”

“I know, sir. But the call came in on Director Fury’s secure line an hour ago, and we only just finished the decryption. They found Captain Rogers’ body. He’s sending a team to extract it.”

Pierce sat up, rubbing his temples with thumb and forefinger. “Okay,” he said. “Where are they taking it?”

“The Guest House.”

“Shut it down. We need his blood, and we don’t know what effects Nick’s little science project might have on the serum.”

“How am I supposed to--”

“Call an emergency meeting of the council on my behalf, and send a team to the location to stall until I can get them onboard. I’ll be at the office in thirty minutes.”

Hurriedly, Pierce changed clothes, straightening his tie in the foyer on the way out the door.

 

“It has come to my attention,” Pierce began immediately as the holograms of Yen, Hawley, Singh, Rockwell, and Malick flashed to life, “that Fury has located the body of Captain Steve Rogers, and is currently making arrangements to have it transported to the Guest House. This can only mean that he intends to use the TAHITI protocol to revive Captain Rogers.”

Malick raised an eyebrow. “As long as he remains a viable test subject, I don’t see the harm.”

“The research on GH.325 is minimal at best,” said Pierce. “There’s every chance that it might render Rogers completely useless as a test subject. And even if he manages to come back unharmed, the neural rewriting could wipe out any intel he might have on the Tesseract and its applications. Every attempt at replicating the serum used in Project Rebirth has failed, but now we have a chance to secure the original formula.”

“Motion to order that blood, hair, and tissue samples be taken from the subject before enacting TAHITI protocol?” suggested Hawley.

“Actually,” Pierce cut in, “I consulted with a contact at the Alden Institute. His expert opinion is that an enhanced individual such as Rogers could be resuscitated by much less aggressive means. The Institute has all of the necessary equipment and expertise to revive Rogers without ruining his viability as either a test subject or source of intelligence, and my contact has complete access.”

“Now, wait a minute,” said Rockwell. “I have reservations about turning over such an important project to a private company. If the public learns that we have Rogers-”

“The Alden Institute is an exclusive cryogenics firm. Their clients demand absolute discretion. Their security is better than SHIELD’s. But, of course, we’ll deploy STRIKE operatives for the duration of Rogers’ stay there. I move to order that Rogers be transported to the Alden Institute and placed in the care of Dr. Christopher Montgomery.”

“Motion seconded,” said Hawley. “With the stipulation that if Rogers isn’t revived within 48 hours of arrival, he be turned back over to SHIELD, and TAHITI protocol be attempted. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” said Pierce.

“All in favor?”

Singh and Yen said, “Aye.”

“All opposed?”

Rockwell and Malick remained silent, abstaining from the vote.

“The motion passes. Mr. Secretary, if you would, inform Fury and relevant project personnel. If there’s no other business…? I call this meeting to a close.”

As Hawley, Rockwell, Yen, and Singh’s holograms dissolved, Malick stayed on the line. “You know,” he began, “Rogers would make an excellent vessel. GH.325 could enhance that potential.”

Pierce suppressed an eyeroll with studied control. Malick’s faction of Hydra was particularly obsessed with the organization’s more occult roots, but Pierce would be damned if he was going to let nutjobs in tinfoil hats like Malick throw his perfect soldier through a wormhole as a ritual sacrifice.

“I realize that, Gideon, but you have to recognize the need for soldiers,” Pierce said. “None of our goals get realized without men, like Rogers, who can do the work. And there’ll be many more like him as long as we don’t act too rashly and ruin our chances. Trust me, once everything is ready, if Rogers is the best vessel we can provide, he’s all yours.”

_Like hell, he is._

“That’s a fair point,” said Malick, seeming to consider it. “Just remember that I have as much claim to SHIELD’s research as you do.”

With that, Malick’s hologram vanished.

Pierce removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, sinking back into his chair. There was so much to be done, and even more that could go wrong. Not only did Nick have his own ideas about what to do with Rogers, Malick was sniffing around. And Malick wasn’t one to let something go. He would pretend to go along with Pierce’s plan, but if he saw an opening, he’d take it without a second thought. The Council had taken two hours on standby before everyone was ready, and every second of time lost at this point was nerve-racking.

Pressing the button for the intercom to his assistant, he said, “Is Rumlow in the building yet?”

“Yes, sir. He’s in a briefing.”

“Call him up to my office immediately. It’s urgent. And arrange a flight to New York. Takeoff in two hours.”

“Yes, sir.”

He released the intercom. It would take Rumlow at least five to ten minutes to excuse himself from the briefing and get to the office. Pierce picked up his phone.

“Call Montgomery,” he said.

Three rings.

“What can I do for you, sir?”

“You have new client coming in.”

“Oh?”

“Leto.”

“ _Oh_. Oh, wow...”

They had started discussing this project years ago, back when Nick had proposed the Avengers Initiative. There had been talk of finding Rogers and reviving him for the project. Pierce’s inner circle had developed a plan to intercept him if he was ever found, isolate and synthesize the serum from his blood, and then turn the man himself into a second Asset. Since the Asset’s codename had been “Zima” during his time with the Russians, it was Pierce’s suggestion that their new soldier be codenamed “Leto”, Russian for “Summer”.

“Malick wants him.”

“Well, that won’t do. I’ll beef up security. Should I wake up the Asset?”

“Not yet, he needs more time to recover from the Libya incident,” said Pierce. “But have the staff on hand if we need to. Get Wentzel if you can. He can see to the Asset while you work on Leto. I’ll send a STRIKE team to coordinate with your security, and more will be with Leto when he gets there. Get started.”

“Yes, sir.”

As soon as he disconnected the call, his assistant’s voice rang out from the intercom. “Sir, Agent Rumlow to see you.”

“Send him in.”

Within thirty seconds, Rumlow entered the office. He was wearing a suit, which meant he didn’t have a current field assignment.

“Sir.”

Pierce motioned for him to sit across from him at the desk and said, “Big escort and defense operation. I need you and twenty operatives, minimum, en route to Greenland as soon as possible.”

He nodded, seeming to work out the logistics in his head. “Who are we escorting?”

“A body, frozen in ice.”

Rumlow’s eyebrows shot up. He was one of the few, other than Pierce and Montgomery, who knew about the project. “You found Leto?”

“Well, Fury’s team found him. But we’ve gotten the Council’s order to take him to Alden. The timeframe’s tight. Forty-eight hours from arrival. And Malick’s got his eye on him, so we’ll need security at all points on the route and fully vetted operatives. Our men only. No less than five years under me, no connections to Malick. If you even get a hint of his supernatural mumbo-jumbo off of them, they’re out.”

“It’ll be rough,” Rumlow said, “but I can make it work. I’ll take my guys with me to the extraction point, and have Anderson double-check backgrounds on the rest before they get deployed along the route.”

“Can you spare a team to coordinate with Montgomery’s security at Alden?’

Rumlow bit his lip and looked off to the right, reassigning his men in his head. “Yeah,” he said. “I can make it work.”

“Good. That’ll be all.”


	2. Hypothermia

**April 14, 2012, 10:24PM**

After almost ten hours of relative quiet, Alden erupted into activity.

It started with a text to Pierce’s cell: _ETA: 5 minutes_.

At his word, the technicians began powering up equipment, and the STRIKE and security personnel took their places throughout the building and on the perimeter. Montgomery called out orders to his staff while adjusting the settings on a heated table.

“Alright, we have just over thirty hours to get this done,” he called out. “Cryo techs - you’re up first. SHIELD’s team has been removing as much ice from the body as possible en route. We have confirmation that the subject _is_ viable. Vitals are minimal or nonexistent. As soon as he gets here, I need a quick assessment, and I _mean_ quick. We’ll spot-vaporize any remaining ice, and then get him up to temperature. The second he hits 90, we’ll defibrillate. If his vitals stabilize at 90, we’ll slow the warming process. This is going to be a much more delicate situation than you’re used to, so I need everyone on their toes. As soon as he’s conscious, cryo techs on standby. We’ll clear out non-personnel, then programmers up. I’m personally doing his preliminary neuro exam and prepping him for Stage One. STRIKE at the ready until we’re sure he’s compliant. Everybody understand what you’re doing?”

A chorus of “Yes, sir” throughout the room before Montgomery continued.

“Good. As soon as your area is ready, get some coffee. It’s going to be a long night.”

As if on cue, a tone sounded over the loudspeaker, and a voice came over the PA system.

“Dr. Montgomery, the patient is ready for intake.”

 

**April 14, 2012, 10:32PM**

The medics wheeled Rogers’ body in, and transferred it carefully to the warming table. This was Pierce’s first opportunity to get a good look at him. The sight didn’t do much for his faith in Montgomery’s team. He looked nothing like the Asset did coming out of cryostasis. He looked like a corpse - white and bloated, with red patches all over his body. But as soon as they attached a few wireless sensors, the monitors showed signs of latent brain activity, even though the rest of his vitals were flatlined and his core temperature was 33 degrees. The array was one developed especially for the Asset - to detect even the most minute changes during revival from cryostasis. Pierce breathed a sigh of relief. Rogers was indeed viable.

“Sir?”

Pierce turned to see Rumlow hovering in the doorway. He looked irritated.

“Sir, Special Agent Coulson rode over with us. He’d like a word with you.”

Pierce nodded and said to the room at large, “Everyone, we’re going to have guests in the house very shortly. You know the protocol.” Then, turning back to Rumlow, “Take me to him.”

 

Coulson was seated in a small office off the main lobby. He stood when Pierce entered the room.

“Mr. Secretary,” he said amicably, offering his hand. “I couldn’t get through security.”

“Well,” Pierce laughed. “That won’t do, now, will it? Were you with Rogers the whole way here?”

“Yes, sir. Director Fury explicitly said that I was to remain with Captain Rogers at all times.”

Pierce made an expression he hoped looked sympathetic. “Alden has tight security. It’s STRIKE and medical only back there. We’re on our guard about certain interested parties.”

“Interested parties, sir?”

“Classified.” Pierce said, then offered, “You know how it is.”

“Of course, sir.” He didn’t really seem to be put at ease, but he let it drop nonetheless. “They said they detected vitals? How is that possible? We were expecting to find a corpse.”

Pierce sat down at the desk, and gestured for Coulson to take his seat again. “I don’t really understand the science of it. Dr. Montgomery had a theory that the various chemicals stored on the Valkyrie could have acted as protectants against the extreme cold. Naturally, they would have leaked during the crash. He suspected that those chemicals, combined with a slow freezing rate and Rogers’ natural resistance to cellular damage might have accidentally put him into a cryostasis similar to that of Dr. Montgomery’s own clients.”

“And this Montgomery thinks he can revive Captain Rogers?” asked Coulson, somewhat incredulously.

“He’s done it with other subjects. Granted, they were preserved intentionally. It looks like Rogers has a lot of tissue damage. He may not survive. If that’s the case, he’ll be turned over to the Guest House.”

Pierce got exactly the reaction out of that he’d been hoping for. Coulson visibly blanched.

“Sir, you can’t,” he said. “That project is-”

Raising a hand to silence the agent, Pierce said, “Barbaric, I know. I read your recommendation. But Nick seems to think that it would be worth the risk. I disagree, but the Council overruled me. I was lucky enough to convince them to try Alden first.”

Coulson nodded.

“Well, would you like to see him? I can take you back, but you won’t be able to stay. As soon as they’re ready to resuscitate, even I can’t stay back there.”

“I appreciate your making an exception for me, sir.”

 

Pierce led Coulson into the bowels of the facility, where the lab was located. The armed guards at the entrance stood aside.

“Dr. Montgomery,” Pierce called as they entered the room. Montgomery looked up warily from his work station. “I’ve brought Agent Coulson to observe. Could you give us an update?”

“Pleasure to meet you, Agent Coulson,” said Montgomery, shaking Coulson’s hand. “Chris Montgomery. I’m the lead neurologist at Alden.”

Coulson nodded politely. “Nice to meet you.”

“Well, as I’m sure you saw, the subject sustained some major damage as a result of the uncontrolled freezing process,” Montgomery said, switching off his monitor and leading Pierce and Coulson to the warming table, where Rogers was now hooked up to life-support, covered in heat-packs, and bathed in red light from the thermal lamps. “But we’ve removed all of the ice, and given him a warm IV and warm oxygen, as well as external warming. You’ll notice the skin damage has cleared up somewhat. This subject obviously heals remarkably quickly. Brain activity is on the rise, but still undetectable by traditional means. His heart and lungs are unable to work on their own at this point, so he’s on a ventilator and bypass in order to deliver the warm oxygen and fluids. I’m optimistic that we will be able to revive him once he reaches a stable temperature, but there’s no telling whether he’ll recover full cognitive function.”

“When will you know for sure?” Coulson asked,

“Difficult to say,” said Montgomery. “We have thirty hours until we have to turn him over to the Guest House team. I don’t expect him to regain consciousness in that amount of time, but there are a few ways around that using various scans to assess how his brain is functioning and predict the most likely outcome. I expect to be working right up to the deadline.”

“And I guess there’s no way to speed that up?” asked Coulson.

Montgomery shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. We’re warming him very quickly now, but once his vitals are restored, we’ll have to slow the warming to prevent rebound hyperthermia. After that, there’s nothing I can do but interpret the scans.”

Pierce’s eyes flicked to the monitors. Rogers’ temperature had already reached 40 degrees, and was rising rapidly - at the rate it was going, he’d be at 90 in the next hour.

“If you’ll both excuse me,” said Montgomery. “I’d like to go over plans for resuscitation with my team one more time.”

“Of course,” Coulson said absently. His eyes were locked on Rogers.

 

**April 14, 2012, 11:28PM**

A high tone sounded on the monitoring equipment as Rogers’ temperature reached 80. The techs, who had all taken seats around the room and settled into quiet conversation, abruptly sprang to their feet. Pierce stood from his chair beside Montgomery’s desk, strode over to the table, and laid a hand on Coulson’s shoulder.

“That’s our cue to leave, Agent Coulson,” he said, guiding the man out of the way of two techs who began extubating Rogers.

“When will we be allowed back in?” asked Coulson as they passed through the lab doors into the hall.

Pierce shrugged. “In twenty-nine hours, I guess. They’ll be giving me updates along the way. I can call you when I know something, if you’d like to go get some sleep.”

“Please do,” said Coulson. “Thanks again for being so helpful.”

Lingering in the hall, Pierce watched Coulson make his way through the lobby and out the front doors. As soon as he was out of sight, Pierce beckoned one of the STRIKE operatives near the front desk over.

“Send someone to make sure he doesn’t loop back around. And let Rumlow know that we’ve reached phase two. No one goes in or out.”

“Yes, sir.”

 


End file.
